Sunday, 28 March 2010

Tissue Box

I like to keep a tissue box in every room of the house as I find it really annoying to sneeze and there not be one nearby. When I buy tissues I always tend to choose the basic range which looks unattractive, but I don’t always believe in paying more for everyday items. While I was visiting Make It and Love It blog I came across a Tissue Box Cover, which was a very neat idea and solved my problem of having plain white tissue boxes on show.

Making the Pattern

I had plenty of these tissue boxes lying around which I decided to cut up to make the pattern. I wrote on the pieces “Cut 1 and “Cut 2” to remind me how many pieces I needed of each shape.

Cutting the Fabric

I used cotton fabric which is a light material and I therefore need to use interfacing (stabilisers) to give it it more shape. I cut out a piece of white cotton fabric for the lining, black interfacing, patterned cotton fabric for the cover and lay the patterns on top for cutting. I traced around the pattern pieces adding a 1/4” seam allowance to all sides.

Interfacing

Put the lining (wrong side facing up), interfacing, outer fabric (right side facing up) and use a hot iron and pressing cloth to help melt the glue on the interfacing to attach it to the fabric. Repeat this technique for all the pieces. More advice on interfacing can be found at Burda Style website.

Making the Top

Measure the size of hole you would like in the top of the cover and cut out. I used a ruler and rotary cutter to cut the hole out.

Cut 1/4” slots in each of the four corners of the rectangle you have made.

Fold and press all the sides of the rectangle over and pin into place .

Sew a straight stitch around the shape.

Attaching the Sides

Stitch all the sides together using a 1/4” seam allowance.

When all the sides are attached press open the seams.

Attaching the Sides to The Top

On the top piece of the cover cut a small 1/4” square out, this will make it easier attaching the top to the side pieces later.

Pin the side pieces to the top of the cover.

Use a straight stitch on the sewing machine and stitch all the sides together.

Finishing Touches

Turn the cover right side out and press.

Turn up the bottom of the cover by 1/4”, press and pin.

Use a straight stitch all around the bottom. Now your tissue box is ready to use.

Final Thoughts

I found a few areas in the making of the tissue box to be tricky, such as making the corners of the box and stitching the top of the cover to the sides. When making the corners it was difficult to line them up and achieve that sharp corner shape. I found it awkward when I was attaching the sides as I had used so many layers of material and it was difficult to stitch through all of them. I kept missing one of the layers and had to re sew over where I had already sewn. Overall I’m pleased with my new tissue box and it looks much better then the plain white shade it was before.
Have you made a tissue box? Can you offer any tips on making a better job at the corners? I would love to hear your view below in the comments section.